The Liberation of the Laity

Clergy sexual misconduct, the place of women in the church and issues of authority are all reasons for Roman Catholics to ask hard questions about their church. But according to Paul Lakeland, if Catholic laity really understood their status according to official church teaching, they might feel an even deeper sense of unease. Like a partner caught in a co-dependent relationship, Lakeland argues, the laity can be liberated only by breaking the centuries-long parent-child relationship on which both parties depend.